Job Description – Peer Recovery Professional - Sober Living
Position Overview
Paragon Behavioral Health Connections is seeking a compassionate and recovery-oriented Peer Recovery Professional to join our sober living community in Colorado. This vital role leverages lived experience with substance use recovery to foster connection, accountability, and hope among residents navigating early sobriety. Working alongside house managers, case managers, and clinical staff, the Peer provides on-site engagement, emotional support, and community-building as part of a cohesive support team. Ideal candidates bring strong interpersonal skills and a deep, personal belief in the power of recovery. A Colorado Peer Specialist certification (or willingness to obtain it within 6 months) is required.
This position reports to the Program Director and includes flexible scheduling with some evening and weekend hours required.
Position Summary
The Peer Recovery Professional is a core member of the sober living support team. They use lived experience with recovery from substance use disorders to build trust, model healthy sober living, and support resident engagement. The Peer provides on-site support, relapse prevention coaching, community-building activities, and group facilitation while embodying the values of sobriety, resilience, and personal responsibility. This role collaborates with house staff and clinical partners to provide consistent, wraparound support to adults in early and sustained recovery.
Role Responsibilities:
- Build trusting relationships with residents through shared lived experience, empathy, and peer connection.
- Provide on-site presence and engagement throughout the sober living facility, including common areas, group spaces, and during community activities.
- Support residents during moments of crisis or high-risk situations; assist in de-escalation and emotional first aid, and connect residents with clinical support when needed.
- Participate in team meetings, contributing to resident progress updates and house community planning.
- Co-facilitate recovery support groups, and wellness or life skills education groups.
- Model recovery values, including accountability, sobriety, self-determination, and meaningful community connection.
- Support residents in maintaining house rules, daily responsibilities, and recovery-related commitments.
- Collaborate with residents' natural supports (family, sponsors, community members) to strengthen their recovery network.
- Document all peer support activities and progress notes in a timely and confidential manner.
- Participate in house safety planning, relapse response protocols, and program fidelity practices.
Housing Support
- Assist residents in understanding house expectations, lease agreements, and sober living policies.
- Provide accompaniment to community appointments, recovery meetings, or housing-related tasks as needed to support resident self-advocacy and independence.
Parenting Skills Coaching
- Provide individualized parenting skills coaching to residents who are parents, drawing on peer experience and evidence-informed practices to support healthy parent-child relationships in recovery.
- Coach residents on establishing and maintaining consistent daily routines for themselves and their children, including morning/evening schedules, mealtimes, and age-appropriate expectations.
- Support residents in identifying, communicating, and reinforcing healthy boundaries within their parenting role, including limit-setting, emotional regulation, and responding to child behavior with consistency and calm.
- Co-facilitate parenting-focused group discussions or skill-building sessions, covering topics such as routine building, positive discipline, boundary-setting, and co-parenting communication.
- Help residents recognize how recovery and stable structure directly benefit their children's wellbeing, reinforcing the connection between sobriety and effective parenting.
- Assist residents in accessing other community parenting resources, including parenting classes, family support programs, and human services as appropriate.
- Coordinate with case managers and clinical staff when parenting concerns require additional professional support or family systems intervention.
Knowledge, skills, and abilities:
- Strong interpersonal communication and active listening skills
- Ability to set and maintain healthy boundaries in peer and resident relationships
- Comfort with on-site mobile work, documentation tools, and scheduling flexibility
- Commitment to sober living principles, including house rules, community accountability, and resident autonomy
- High level of independence, time management, and ability to prioritize multiple tasks
- Commitment to cultural awareness, equity, and working with diverse populations
- Strong conflict resolution and decision-making skills
Qualifications:
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Education: High School Diploma or GED (required)
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Experience: Minimum of 2 years in sustained sobriety (substance use recovery) required
- Previous experience in peer support, sober living, behavioral health, or recovery coaching preferred
- Colorado Peer Specialist certification (or ability to complete within 6 months of hire) required
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Language Skills: Bilingual (Spanish) preferred, depending on location.
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Other Requirements: Valid driver’s license, auto insurance, willingness to travel to homes/communities.
- Requires living in or near the location of the posting.
Job Details
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Type: Full-Time
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Location: Lakewood
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Schedule: 40 hours per week
- Required to provide some evening and weekend availability to support resident needs.
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Salary: $26-$29 per hour
Benefits
- Paid health, dental, vision, life, short- and long-term disability insurance.
- Flexible work hours
- Discretionary Time Off (DTO)
- 401(k)retirement plan
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
- Professional development support
- Referral bonuses
Diversity & Inclusion
Paragon Behavioral Health Connections is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace. We strongly encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds, identities, and lived experiences.